As we arrive at the 2025 PGA Championship, the top of the golf world feels as competitive as ever. Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy have been dominant on the PGA Tour, Bryson DeChambeau has become a monster at majors for LIV Golf, and a host of other players are constantly knocking at the door of that elite tier.

Players rave about it when they come every year, but for the course architecture heads and the peripheral golf community, the glass is very much half empty on this week’s PGA Championship venue. So why is the divide so stark?

Golf has two majors this week. The PGA Championship is at Quail Hollow in North Carolina, the second major of the year.